Republican presidential candidate Marco
Rubio said on Friday that the debate about whether gay and lesbian
couples can marry is not about discrimination.

The Florida senator made his remarks at
the Presidential Family Forum in Des Moines, Iowa. Seven Republican
presidential candidates attended the event, which took place at the
Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center. Event co-sponsors
included The Family Leader Foundation, the National Organization for
Marriage (NOM) and the Alliance for Defending Freedom.

Rubio told attendees that the debate
over religious liberty was taking place “in the context of the
definition of marriage.”

“Which is not a debate about
discrimination,” Rubio stated. “The debate is about how do you
define an institution, the institution of marriage, which has been
defined the same way for all of human history. That's what the
debate is about. It's not about discriminating against anyone. The
debate is about how do you define an institution.”

Rubio added that religious liberty was
about the right to “exercise your belief.”

“And if you're a Christian, it's your
obligation to exercise your religious belief in every aspect of your
life,” he said.